Tubes are employed for many purposes to provide for passage of air or fluids, including gases, to and from the human body. One type of tube is an endotracheal tube, which is adapted to be inserted through the oral cavity of a patient and into the trachea to provide for the supply of fluids or gasses to the body, for the monitoring of internal conditions in the body and to provide for removal of secretions from within the body.
It is desirable to secure the endotracheal tube in place within the patient to prevent it from being inadvertently advanced into the left or right tracheal bifurcation or retracted from the trachea after it has been properly positioned. However, it is difficult to properly secure an endotracheal tube to a patient's oral cavity to prevent these events.
Presently, adhesives are used to keep the tube positioned which are ineffective because of the presence of facial hair, oily skin, dirt, blood, etc. According to this approach of retaining a medical tube near the tube insertion site, one or more adhesive strips are applied directly over the tube and to the skin of the patient. In order to adjust the position of the tube, the adhesive strip must be removed from the skin and then reapplied in the desired location. This significantly weakens the holding strength of the adhesive, and often requires the placement of additional strips on the tube and skin to properly anchor the tube. Natural body secretions further reduce the ability of the strip to properly retain the tube.
Another problem is that the endotracheal tube is usually relatively easy to deform and passes between the patient's teeth if inserted orally. It is desirable to prevent the lumen of the endotracheal tube from being obstructed by a patient's teeth when the patient attempts to bite clown during or with extubation after reversal of the muscle relaxant. Obstruction of the endotracheal tube can lead to, for example, hypoxia, or other similar conditions.
The above approaches are ineffective in protecting against possible obstruction of the tube. Bite blocks can be effective in keeping a patient's jaw open and thus prevent the teeth from clamping down on the endotracheal tube. The problem is that the bite block is yet another piece of equipment that may be inserted into the patient's mouth along with other medical apparatuses.
Other prior art devices using a clamp attached to an adhesive strip are likewise ineffective. These devices are generally applicable only for a single, specific tube size and do not effectively restrict sliding movement of the tube within the clamp.
Notwithstanding the present methods and ways, a need still exists for a better way to secure an endotracheal tube in a patient while avoiding the above stated problems.